The Information Battlespace A Level Playing Field for the Asymmetric Foe - Analysis of ISIS Efforts in Communications, Obstacles to Public Affairs Efforts by the USAF to Influence the Enemy

The current conflict the United States and its coalition partners are engaged in with the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) is largely ideological. The West's narrative of liberal democracy runs counter to that of ISIS's brand of Islamic extremism bent on Sharia law. ISIS recently revealed it has devoted significant effort to a domain that offers it a more even playing field in which to challenge those who oppose it. The skill with which it produced a video of the terrorist group's murder of a Jordanian pilot indicates an advanced understanding of visual communication. This and other instances of an increased emphasis on operations within the information battlespace deserve close scrutiny. The U.S. Air Force faces two major obstacles in contending with this issue: first, cultural and organizational emphasis on the communications requirements associated with equipping the Air Force as opposed to operational communications and second, the risk aversion endemic to large bureaucracies. This research paper will analyze instances of ISIS's increased, more sophisticated efforts in the realm of communication and using that information, will suggest strategies to overcome the obstacles to the Air Force contending with this challenge, not only with respect to ISIS, but any enemy seeking to engage in the information battlespace. Although these efforts overlap at times with what the U.S. military calls Psychological Operations or Military Information Support Operations, for the purposes of this paper, the analysis will focus solely on Public Affairs (PA) efforts to influence the enemy.This compilation includes a reproduction of the 2019 Worldwide Threat Assessment of the U.S. Intelligence Community.The terrorist group ISIS recently revealed it has devoted significant effort to a domain that offers it a more even playing field in which to challenge those who oppose the group. The skill with which ISIS members produced a video of their murder of a Jordanian pilot indicates an advanced understanding of visual communication. This and other instances of an increased emphasis on operations within the information battlespace deserve close scrutiny. Such efforts should send a signal to the military and to the Air Force in particular-our enemies will seek to fight us in the arena of their choosing, not ours. The Air Force faces two major obstacles in contending with this issue: first, organizational emphasis on traditional air operations and the requirements to conduct those operations and second, the risk aversion endemic to large bureaucracies like military services.